I Spy
by EmmaEllieJane
Summary: It's Lindsay's birthday & the girls have just solved another case. They have some vacation time itching to be used so they head to the small town of San Ferno for the weekend, unwittingly encountering their most dangerous case yet.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One.

"You have the right to remain silent, if you refuse that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you..." Inspector Lindsay Boxer said, slapping a pair of handcuffs on the thin, scrawny kid, barely out of High school. Barely out of high school, and already committed a string of murders along the San Franscico Bay Area. She handed the now handcuffed murderer to Detective Gil Lowman, who continued to read the kid his rights as he helped him into the back of a police car.  
Lindsay sighed as she surveyed the scene surrounding her. It was dark, nearly ten at night. Police were keeping a tight barricade around the area, holding back curious onlookers and the press. An ambulance and several cop cars sat at odd angles in the street, just outside the kid's mother's house. The mother herself was sitting in the ambulance, a blanket wrapped around her frail shoulders, in shock. Lindsay headed over to her.  
"Mrs. Davidson, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions." She began, but Mrs. Davidson cut her off.  
"You're wrong!" The old woman screamed. A paramedic tried to calm her down. "My son is not a killer! He did not kill anyone! You've got it all wrong. Louie's a good kid, he wouldn't hurt a fly!"  
Lindsay stepped back, giving Mrs. Davidson some room. The poor woman was unstable, and they didn't really need to talk to the mother anyway, the evidence against Louie Davidson was astounding, the case was basically open and shut. She turned her head as she heard heels against pavement, and saw Jill Bernhadt, the city's Assistant District Attorney, and also one of her closest friends, walking towards her in long strides, looking good, as she always did, in a sleek black skirt and a grey blouse. Lindsay walked over to meet her, still hearing the woman proclaiming her son's innocence in the background, how he could never hurt anyone.  
"E pur si Muove." Jill said softly, staring at the frantic woman, now being restrained by two paramedics. She turned to Lindsay and gave her a smile. "So, we solved this one in record time, huh? Two weeks."  
"And three victims." Lindsay said quietly. That was the part that was getting to her the most. Three innocent young girls had to die before they got him. To the Inspector, that was three too many.  
Jill squeezed her friend's shoulder. "Don't think about that. Think about all the lives we saved."  
Lindsay tried to smile. "Yeah, I think I will."  
"Please tell me I'm not needed here."  
Lindsay and Jill turned to see their close friend, Claire Washburn, join them. They laughed.  
"No, I think you're fine. But feel free to keep our company anyway." Jill told the dark-skinned chief medical examiner affectionately.  
"I'm telling you, I know Inspector Lindsay Boxer, if you will just call her over here, I'm sure she will tell you the same thing."  
They all looked towards the police barricade, holding bystanders back, to see an energetic, red-headed reporter trying to weasle her way past the police officer's blocking her way. She was better known as Cindy Thomas, a crime reporter from the Register, and also the fourth member of their group.  
"We better go help her before she get's herself arrested." Jill said. Although the blonde had a glint in her eyes, she was serious. Cindy had a knack for getting into trouble.  
Claire linked her arm through the homicide detective's, while Jill looped her arm through Lindsay's other one, and together they walked over to "rescue" their friend. 

"Here's to us," Cindy said half an hour later. She raised her glass in the air. "To the awesome club we have."  
"It's not a club!" The other three women cried, laughing, as they all clinked their glasses together. The waitress brought them another round. They were quiet for a while as they drank their drinks. Jill was the first one to talk.  
"Okay, so we've been dying to tell you Linds, but we wanted to wait until you weren't on a case when we did."  
Lindsay raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?"  
"Well, in honour of your birthday this Friday... No, we didn't forget," Jill said as the Inspector rolled her eyes. "In honour of your birthday, I convinced my cousin to let us borrow his cabin for a few days."  
"In San Ferno!" Cindy exclaimed, with fake enthusiasm.  
Lindsay looked puzzled. "What's San Ferno?"  
"That's what I said." Cindy replied, dejected.  
Claire shook her head affectionately at their reporter friend. "Cindy wanted to go to L.A."  
Lindsay opened her mouth to protest.  
"But we quickly vetoed that idea." Jill put in. So I promised my cousin I'd repaint the cabin if he would let us stay there a few nights. And by I, I mean we. So it's all set. A few days of hiking, swimming, shopping at the local stores. Just us girls, including Martha ofcourse." Jill said, referring to Lindsay's lovable border Collie.  
"So, what do you say, sweetie?" Claire smiled warmly at her best friend.  
A million thoughts raced through Lindsay's head. She wanted to say no. Just stay home, curl up with a book and a bottle of wine like she did every other birthday. Maybe have the girls over for dinner. But she could tell Jill had put a lot of work into this and it _was_ good timing, what with them just finishing a case and all. And it would be nice to get away for a while. Lindsay grinned as she made her decision.  
"San Ferno, here we come!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Nothing too exciting, just a bit of a filler. I have some ideas for this story but nothing concrete, so feel free to review and let me know where you want this to go. I'm happy to incorporate your ideas on this one._

Chapter Two.

"Are we there yet?"  
Lindsay turned to the Cindy incredulously.  
"You're like a child."  
Jill giggled to herself as she turned off the freeway. They had been on the road for nearly four hours now, and they had all learned that the energetic reporter just did not like to sit still. Ever.  
Poor Claire was stuck in the back with the cafeineted red head, Martha asleep on her lap. Jill was driving as she was the only one who knew where San Ferno was, and Lindsay had been in the back seat but Claire had generously offered to switch seats with her. It was her birthday weekend after all.  
Cindy humphed and sank down in her seat, unwittingly cementing the child image in her friends' minds.  
"As a matter of fact, we are there." Jill announced as they passed a small "Welcome to San Ferno. Population: 7" sign. The other numbers had been rubbed off.  
"Thank the lord!" Cindy cried. "If I had to sit in the car for any longer I would have murdered someone."  
"_You_ would have murdered someone?" Lindsay snarled, rubbing her temple.  
"If you two don't get along I swear Jill will stop the car and you can both get out and walk. If I wanted to listen to two "teenagers" squabbling I could have stayed at home." Claire said, exasperated. She gave both Lindsay and Cindy stern looks.  
"Yes, Claire." The Homicide Inspector and Crime Reporter said softly, heads down in shame.  
Jill laughed, breaking the silence and pretty soon everyone was laughing, their bad moods forgotten.  
'This is going to be the best weekend ever.' Jill thought happily.

"This is going to be the worst weekend ever!" Jill cried, staring in dismay at the tiny cabin as Martha barked excitedly, doing laps around all four women.  
Cindy walked past her, heading toward said cabin, hauling a duffel bag. "Hey, I wanted to go to L.A. You're the one who wanted to go to San freakin' Ferno." She said defensively.  
"I thought you used to come here all the time when you were kids?" Lindsay asked as she got the last bag out of the car and slammed the boot.  
"Yeah, but we stayed in the town, near the beach. Not in some hut in the woods! This is a joke!" Jill's head fell into her raised hands. Claire placed a comforting hand on Jill's shoulder.  
"It's alright, sweetie. We'll still have a good time. It's not that far from the town."  
Jill chose to ignore the conforting words and groaned. "We probably have to haul our own water from the river. There's probably only one bed!" Claire shook her head, hiding a smile as she placed her hand on the small of the blonde's back, pushing her slowly towards the cabin. Lindsay grinned at the drama, Jill's voice getting quieter as the two walked arm in arm to the holiday house.  
"There's probably an outhouse, Claire. An outhouse! We're going to have to catch our own food and then cook it over a fire. I hope you know how to make a fire out of two sticks, cause..."  
The door shut behind them, cutting off the rest of the words. Despite Jill's description of the place, which Lindsay knew was slightly exaggerated, the brunette was actually looking forward to spending some time in the woods with her girlfriends. Going for walks down by the small river that ran through the wooded forest, sleeping in and staying up late, drinking beer and playing cards with her three most favourite people. Sounded like heaven to her.  
She felt a nudge on her leg and looked down to see Martha sitting at her feet, a slobbery stick on the ground between them.  
"Good girl," Lindsay cooed.  
She picked up the stick and tossed it into the trees, briefly watching Martha take off after it before turning around and grabbing the last few bags and heading towards the "hut".

Claire took a quick look around the whole cabin. The small holiday house only had one room, but it had comfy looking twin beds. There was also the couch, which pulled out into a double bed, so there was room for them all to sleep. The kitchen might have been small but it was well equipped, including a large fridge and pantry full of fresh groceries that Jill had had the foresight to order and have sent here. There was no TV, but there was a bar that looked newer than the cabin, fully stocked and a decent sized table and chairs. The bathroom had a toilet, sink and shower in there, with hot and cold running water. Outside there was a patio with a jacuzzi for crying out loud. Jill's fears were completely unfounded, Claire realised. In fact, the cabin was in very good condition. All it needed was a paint job.  
Claire quickly claimed one of the twin beds as her own. It was decided that Lindsay would get the other bed, since she was the birthday girl, and Jill and Cindy would share the couch. All the bags however, were piled into the cabin's one room.  
"Jill, do you really need three bags?" Claire asked, though not really that suprised. Jill nodded.  
"Make-up, clothes and shoes." She said simply.  
"You're lucky she didn't bring another one for hair, and seperate her clothes into casual and business." Cindy teased lightly as they all walked into the kitchen.  
"Nope." Jill said with a firm shake of her head. "No collars, buttons or zips for me this weekend. I have a whole wadrobe full of unused "casual clothes" and I intend to use them." She jumped as Cindy squealed from behind the pantry door.  
"Apple cinnamon Pop-Tarts!" She cried happily. "My favourite!"  
Claire grinned at how easily exciteable her young friend was as she put away the fresh milk and bread they had picked up en-route.  
Jill nodded. "I know, that's why I ordered them."  
Cindy turned to face the blonde, face flushed with excitement, and pecked her on the mouth.  
"Wow, what did I miss?" Lindsay asked suspiciously. She had walked in just as Cindy had kissed the ADA.  
"Jill bought Pop Tarts."  
Lindsay sniggered as she went to check out the bar. "Man, you're easy."  
Claire snorted and Cindy whacked Lindsay on the arm, pretending to be upset.  
"I wonder what I would get for two boxes..." Jill said slyly, causing everyone to crack up, even Cindy.  
"I'll make you girls a deal," Claire said as she looked at her watch. It was nearly six O'Clock.  
"You girls unpack the rest of the bags, and I'll cook dinner."  
Claire chuckled as the three younger woman all ran off to the room, giggling and talking loudly, leaving the kitchen quiet and to herself. She loved those girls to bits, but a she needed a bit of peace otherwise there really would be dead bodies.  
The medical examiner had just pulled out all the ingredients for a meal of pasta, salad and garlic bread when there was a loud crashing sound came from the bedroom followed by a raised voice.  
"Cindy!"  
"Oops, sorry." Came the muffled reply and Claire shook her head as she went to investigate.  
"Worse than my sons." She muttered fondly to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm not sure why it worked out like this, but this chapter is another filler. The next one will be actiony-er (?). Would you like to see most of the action happen in the town, or in the foresty area around the cabin? I'm still not too sure where this is going, lol. I'm hopeless. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and please review.

Chapter Three.

Jill leaned back against her chair, holding her stomach as she moaned.  
"I think I ate too much."  
Lindsay glanced at the blonde's half-finished meal hungrily. "Does that mean you aren't going to eat the rest?"  
Jill looked at Lindsay in mock horror. "Where the hell do you put it, Boxer?"  
Lindsay shrugged as she pulled the plate towards her.  
"I think it's a Texan thing." Claire chuckled. She scratched Martha's head, who lay curled up at her feet.  
Cindy chose that moment to join them at the small outdoor table and chairs on the patio, carrying another bottle of wine.  
"That bar has everything. We're not going to be sober enough to paint the cabin at all this weekend." Cindy said as she topped up their wine glasses, then took her seat next to Jill.  
Jill patted the red head's knee in thanks as she took a sip of her freshly poured wine. "Despite my ranting earlier, I think it's going to be really nice. Just the four of us hanging out for our girl's birthday. It's so gorgeous here, it kind of makes you forget all the crap that goes on in our lives." Jill finished the sentence by tilting her head back to look at the clear night sky, dotted with wispy clouds.  
"I agree. Nothing beats the outdoors." Lindsay sighed.  
Cindy wrinkled her nose. "I still think L.A would have been better..." She teased. Claire rolled her eyes. "But I guess it is kind of nice to escape the hustle and bustle of the city for awhile."  
Claire nodded, just enjoying listening to her three best friend's lazy chatter. They spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, drinking and playing cards. Cindy didn't know how to play Texas Hold 'em so Jill taught her. Much to Lindsay's annoyance, as once the red head got the hang of it, she won every game. Half way through her winning streak (they were playing for pretzels) Cindy loudly and drunkenly declared that next year they should go to Las Vegas so she could 'clean up'.  
It had been one of the best nights of her life, Jill decided as she went to sleep that night. She was in such a good mood that she didn't mind Cindy's drunken rambling, though that could have been since she was quite drunk herself, as was Lindsay and even Claire. It was nice to see them all loosening up a bit, usually it was just the blonde who got a little tipsy, being the lightweight of the group.  
Jill rolled over to face Cindy. Her eyes were half closed, yet she struggled to stay awake, talking about anything and everything.  
"Jill?" The reporter mumbled.  
"Yeah munchkin?" Jill sighed, stroking a strand of red hair that framed her friend's flushed face. She thought to herself how beautiful she looked, and why she had never noticed that before.  
"Thanks for letting me join the club."  
"It's not a club." Jill smiled. "It's a family." Cindy's mouth stretched into a tired grin at that and they both fell into a deep sleep, excitement and anticipation coursing through them for the morning.

Bang. Crash. Smack. Bang.  
Lindsay rolled over, nearly falling out of the single bed, as bright sunlight irritated her closed eyes. She groaned as sleep deserted her completely and a headache replaced it. Sitting up slowly so as not to make herself dizzy, she rubbed her tired eyes.  
"Claire, what's happening?" Lindsay mumbled, where she was and last night's events coming back to her. When she got no answer Lindsay looked across to the other bed, suprised to find it empty and unmade. She glanced at her watch, which she had forgotten to take off the night before in her haste to sleep.  
What in the world was she doing up at 7 o'clock in the morning with a hangover?  
"Claire?" Lindsay called grumpily, swinging her legs out of bed. She stumbled wearily towards the direction of the bangs and crashes.  
"Claire! What's going..." Lindsay halted mid sentence at the sight that greeted her in the bright kitchen. "...on."  
Cindy looked up, looking way too chipper for a woman who was supposed to be hungover, holding a frying pan, her wavy red hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, a yellow apron wrapped around her waist. she had what looked like flour smudged across her heat flushed cheeks.  
"I made pancakes!" She said cheerily, pulling out another plate for Lindsay and pouring her a glass of orange juice. Lindsay noticed orange skins sitting on the bench next to a juicer. What time had she gotten up?  
The brunette accepted the glass and plate in shock, then went and joined an equally bleary eyed Claire and Jill at a stool at the breakfast bar. Cindy continued banging and crashing around the kitchen to the sound of bacon sizzling in the pan.  
"We just discovered Cindy's a morning person." Jill said, her voice muffled from where her head was in her arms on the counter. Claire just pushed a bottle of aspirin towards the brunette, who accepted it gratefully. Even Martha looked exhausted as she ate her food tiredly at Claire's feet.  
"Did you sleep at all?" Lindsay asked, swallowing a couple of aspirin with the juice.  
"I always get up this early after I've been drinking." Cindy shrugged her soulders, piling some crispy bacon onto her friends' plates. Lindsay's anger dissapeared as she tucked into her greasy breakfast.  
"Yes, but do we have to suffer with you?" Jill asked as she resurfaced. Her annoyance dimmed somewhat aswell at seeing her plate. She picked up a piece of bacon with her fingers and nibbled on it.  
Claire chuckled to herself at seeing how easily her girl's were won over with food, although she too had felt her irritation at being woken so early vanish at seeing the fresh juice Cindy had made.  
The toaster popped, and Cindy grabbed her Pop Tarts and put them on a plate. She stood on the other side of the counter to eat them, jiggling from foot to foot.  
"You're a funny girl." Jill said fondly, taking the container of aspirin off Lindsay.  
Cindy grinned. "So what are we doing today?" She asked excitedly. "Want to go for a walk?"  
Jill groaned. "You can go for a walk. I'm going back to bed for a couple of hours." She stood up, taking her plates and glass to the sink. "Wake me before lunch."  
Lindsay nodded as she too took her dishes to the sink. "Yeah, me too. Thanks for breakfast."  
Claire had to laugh at the look Cindy gave to Lindsay and Jill's retreating backs. The red head turned to Claire hopefully.  
"Sure, honey. Just let me change my shoes."  
Cindy nodded. "I'll meet you out front. Come on, Martha. Want to go for a walk?"  
Martha's ears perked up at the word 'walk' and she jumped up, her tail wagging.  
Cindy laughed as she went outside, Martha following at her heels. Stepping out into the early morning sunshine, Cindy couldn't help but feel happy. Despite what she said about L.A, she really did love the simple joy just being in the outdoors can bring. It reminded her of her father, and how he would take her and her brother camping when they were little.  
"Ready?" Came the warm voice from behind her. Cindy turned to face Claire.  
"Ready."


	4. Chapter 4

I want to thank everyone still reading this story despite the shaky start. The action is indeed starting now, and it's only going to get worse for the women. I have the rest planned out and it will be roughly 12 chapters. The next couple are written and just need to be revised so they'll be up in the next few days. Please read and review. :-)

~WMC~

Chapter Four.

Cindy and Claire walked along a well-worn path, the red head's arm looped through the older woman's affectionately. Martha ran ahead, sniffing excitedly before running back to the women and circling around their feet, yapping happily. They had been walking along at a nice pace for nearly an hour now and the border collie didn't show any signs of tiring yet.  
"Did I tell you what Ed wanted to call Nate if he was a girl?" Claire asked, continuing with their subject of names.  
Cindy wrinkled her nose and shook her head.  
"Beatrice."  
Cindy collapsed into giggles, holding onto Claire to keep herself standing. "No..."  
Claire nodded, eyes twinkling. "Yes, he did. It was his grandmother's name."  
Cindy wiped the tears away from her eyes as they stepped over a fallen log that blocked the path. "What did you say when he told you that?"  
Claire smirked. "I told him in that case, if he was a boy I wanted to name him Bertram after my grandfather." The older woman chuckled, giving Cindy a wink.  
"Poor Nate. Does he know..."  
Cindy suddenly stopped talking as Martha backed up to them, growling softly, eyes staring ahead at something they couldn't see because of the trees.  
"What is it, Martha?" Cindy asked the dog as if she could answer. She reached down and grabbed her collar, letting go of Claire in the process.  
"I can hear people." Claire whispered in the reporter's ear, before silently creeping forward to peer through the trees. Cindy came up behind her, and together they saw a small clearing about a quarter of a mile ahead, a small house sat in the middle of it. Claire noticed there were two dark haired men argueing with a third man with light blonde hair. Claire reached her arm behind her and gripped Cindy's shoulder, motioning for her to be quiet.  
They couldn't quite make out the words, but the dark haired men were getting angrier and angrier as the blonde spoke calmly, hands raised palm up in defense. Before the women could even blink, one of the brunettes pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot the blonde point blank in the head. He was dead before he hit the ground, Claire knew. Cindy gasped, and Claire spun around, clasping her hand over the younger woman's mouth. She cursed silently as Martha let out a loud bark, causing the men to look up and seemingly right at them. They started moving towards them at a fast pace, shouting incoherantly.  
"Cindy, run!" Claire cried, and that was all the encouragement the red head needed. The two women and Martha ran through the bush as fast as they dared towards the cabin, hearing the men's shouts getting closer, and then further away again. They had to keep running.  
Cindy was faster than the mother of two, so when she heard a sharp cry of pain she spun around and ran back to Claire who sat on the ground, clutching her left ankle.  
"Claire... Oh my god, are you okay?" Cindy asked, eyes wild. Claire nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying out again. Cindy glanced around. She couldn't hear the men any longer. They must have gone a different way.  
"What can I do?" Cindy's voice conveyed her concern. She knelt next to her friend as Claire pulled her shoe and sock off. Cindy gasped at the swelling that was already visible.  
Claire looked up, a steely determination in her eyes. "Help me up."  
Cindy nodded. She wrapped her right arm around Claire's waist and stood up, hoisting the M.E with her.  
"All I wanted was a nice, relaxing weekend with my girls. Is that too much to ask?" Claire muttered through clenched teeth as they ambled along slowly. Cindy reached up with her left hand and brushed away a lock of dark hair from the woman's sweaty forehead.  
"No, it's not. We'll get our weekend, don't you worry." She promised with a false cheeriness.  
Steadily and slowly, stopping every few minutes so Claire could take a break, they made their way back to the house. After nearly half an hour, Cindy glanced around. Guilt flooded through her as she discovered what was missing.  
"Shit. Where's Martha?"

Jill woke reluctantly at hearing a scratching against the front door. It took her a minute to comprehend where she was, and another minute to untangle herself from the sheets, yet the scratching continued.  
"Coming, coming..." Jill mumbled. She clumsily unlocked the front door and pulled it open, nearly falling over backwards as a black and white streak flew past her legs.  
"What the..."  
When she realised it had been Martha, the blonde poked her head outside and looked around. Surely the border collie wouldn't have just run off on the girls? She was too loyal for that. Not seeing anyone, Jill stepped back inside and shut the door.  
"What's going on?"  
Jill spun around as she heard Lindsay's sleepy voice behind her.  
"That's what I'd like to know." Jill looked at her watch. "Claire and Cindy should have been back by now."  
"Martha wouldn't have come back here without them. Something must have happened." Lindsay decided.  
"What is she, Lassie now?" Jill snapped, her irritation more out of worry for her friends. Lindsay seemed to understand this and just shrugged.  
"We should go check, just to make sure."  
Jill nodded as she chucked Lindsay her coat, shrugging into hers. They slipped on their shoes as Martha ran circles around Lindsay, tail wagging as she barked.  
"Maybe she'll show us the way." Jill muttered. Her and Lindsay walked outside with Martha, barely having time to shut the front door before Martha took off, stopping every few feet to make sure they were following.  
Lindsay gave the blonde a mocking grin and Jill shook her head in warning.  
"Don't say a word."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the long wait, please read and review! The rest of the chapters are all planned out but I can't garuantee an update soon, (though i will try), due to my track record. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Five.

"Claire!"  
"Cindy!"  
Jill sighed, running a hand through her short blonde hair, feeling her worry and concern steadily increase by the second. It had been 15 minutes since they had left the cabin and there was still no trace of the girls. Lindsay looked equally as stressed; worse case scenarios running through her mind like a video.  
Suddenly Martha dashed off into the forest again, this time not returning.  
"Martha!" Lindsay scolded as her and the blonde chased the dog through some trees, nearly running smack into Claire and Cindy.  
"Oh thank god!" Jill cried, flinging her arms around the women in a big bear hug. She pulled back.  
"What the hell happened?"  
Lindsay grabbed Martha's collar, stroking her head to let her know she had done good.  
"My ankle." Claire winced. Jill noticed how tired both women looked, and took Cindy's place on Claire's left as Lindsay offered her other side support. Claire sighed gratefully.  
"We went for a walk." Cindy explained. About a mile from here we saw three men arguing. Next thing you know one of them pulled a gun out and shot another in the head. The two guys who weren't dead heard Martha bark and chased after us. Claire hurt her ankle trying to get away, but I think we lost them."  
Claire noticed for the first time that Cindy was shaking, despite the warm afternoon sun. It hadn't occurred to her before that whilst she dealt with death all the time; saw it on her table every day, Cindy only wrote about it. It was a lot different to seeing a man die right in front of you. Even Claire was spooked. She was about to ask the red head if she was okay when Lindsay piped up.  
"Where are they now?"  
"We don't know. They stopped chasing us about an hour ago. They could be anywhere by now."  
"They had motorbikes." Cindy added to Claire's statement.  
"Trouble just seems to follow you around, doesn't it Lois Lane?" Jill joked, though she felt like doing anything but laughing at that moment. Cindy just grimaced in response.  
"Bad joke, I know. I'm sorry. What do we do Lindsay?"  
Lindsay was quiet for a moment as they concentrated on walking. "We get back to the cabin, inform the local authorities, pack up our stuff and get out of here."  
"You do realise you two are now witnesses in a murder investigation?" Jill added, casting a sideways glance at the two.  
Cindy sighed in exasperation. "Hey, I wanted to go to L.A."

Lindsay, with her keen Inspector eyes, was the first to notice.  
"Shit! No. Fuck." She cried, leaving Claire to lean on Jill and running to her car. The others realised what she was upset about. All four tyres were slashed. Lindsay unlocked the car with the keys from her coat pocket and grabbed her gun from the glove box, clicking the safety off. She turned to her friends.  
"Stay here." She warned, before slowly walking up the cabin steps and inside.  
Claire, Cindy, Jill and Martha stood huddled around nervously, Cindy holding Martha's collar so she wouldn't follow her owner. They glanced around suspiciously at every sound they heard in the forest around them, too scared to talk or move.  
After what seemed like ages, but was probably only five minutes, Lindsay came out and motioned them to come in.  
"House is clear. Phone is down." The brunette said as if she was merely reading from a piece of paper. Before Jill could check her cell, Lindsay added, "No reception."  
"So now what's the plan?" Cindy said softly as Jill helped Claire sit on the couch. Lindsay shut the door once Martha was inside and turned to her friends. She looked from the reporter, to the D.A, to the injured M.E. She felt so protective towards them, she loved them all so much. They all were looking to her to make a plan, to get them out of here. She was the cop, trained to deal with situations like these.  
"I'm not sure..." Lindsay finally whispered, sounding more vulnerable than the girls had ever heard her before. Jill stood up and enveloped the Inspector in a hug. Lindsay briefly squeezed back before pulling away, feeling her strength return. It's amazing how a simple hug from a friend can make you feel so much better.

"We can't do anything till morning, it's too dark. Cindy, you take carer of Claire's ankle. Jill, you and I will make sure the house is secure."  
Claire watched in concern as the tough homicide inspector walked off close all the doors, the blonde trailing behind her.  
"Would you like me to wrap your ankle?" Claire looked up as Cindy knelt next to the couch, the first aid kit and a bag of frozen peas in her hands.  
Claire nodded, taking the peas off her hands. "Yes please, sweetie."  
As Cindy silently got on with her task Claire noticed that the reporter's hands were shaking. A warm brown hand clasped comfortingly over a pale one.  
"Hey, are you okay?" The medical examiner said softly.  
Cindy managed a smale smile and shrugged, fingers deftly taping the bandage.  
"I've just never seen anyone die before. I mean, I write about it all the time... but it's a lot different to seeing up close like that..."  
Claire nodded knowingly but before she got a chance to say anything else Lindsay and Jill came back into the room.  
"Everything looks secure." Lindsay promounced, mouth pressed in a tight line. Claire sighed as she looked up at her friend. Seems she would have to talk to her aswell.  
"Cindy, Jill, could you please go check that the doors are all locked?"  
Cindy opened her mouth to protest. "But Linds and Jill..."  
Recognising the tone in Claire's voice, Jill interupted the red head, taking her by the arm and pulling her out the room.  
"Sure. Come on Missy."  
After the girls were gone, Lindsay turned to Claire.  
"I'm fine, Claire."  
Claire merely arched her eyebrows. Lindsay sighed.  
"Well, obviouly I've been better, but..."  
"Linds, it's okay to be scared."  
Lindsay narrowed her eyes. "Who said..." She seemed to think better of argueing, and instead said, "I shouldn't be. I deal with situations like this all the time. I need to be calm, and strong, The other girls are all looking to me to get us out of here."  
"That may be, sweetie. But it's okay to be scared, it's human even. It means your still alive, and you haven't let the job take you over. You being scared? It's the reason i know we are all getting out of this in one piece."  
Lindsay nooded, hastily wiping away a lone tear that fell and grabbing Claire's hand.  
"Thanks, Claire."  
Claire smiled, pulling the younger woman into a hug.  
"Anytime, sweetie." She pulled back.  
"What's happening? And i know you know, so don't give me any crap otherwise. I need to know."  
Lindsay decided against objecting after noticeing the seriousness in the older woman's eyes. She swallowed nervously.  
"What you and Cindy saw; they don't want any witnesses for. I think they tried to kill you then and there, but couldn't. So they made it impossible for us to find help so they could come back and finish the job. I think they are coming back tonight, and I think they are going to kill us."  
Claire nodded, a grim smile on her face.  
"I appreciate your honesty." 


End file.
